SINGAPORE: A High Court judge on Friday (Jul 19) tossed out a bid by former transport minister S Iswaran to compel the prosecution to hand over statements of all its witnesses.
Iswaran's lawyers, led by Senior Counsel Davinder Singh, had already lost their first attempt in a June hearing not open to the public, and this was their second try in a criminal revision heard on Jul 5.
Justice Vincent Hoong said
Justice Hoong also rejected the defence's argument that there has been an abuse of process or serious injustice on the prosecution's part.
The development comes about a month before Iswaran is set to go on trial in the High Court for his criminal charges. CNA understands his trial begins on Aug 13.
Corruption cases are usually heard in the State Courts, but the prosecution had successfully applied for this case to be heard in the High Court in March.
The 62-year-old Singaporean faces a total of 35 charges comprising 32 counts of obtaining valuables as a public servant, two counts of corruption and one of obstructing justice.
These relate to his interactions with property tycoon Ong Beng Seng and Mr Lum Kok Seng, the managing director of Singapore-listed Lum Chang Holdings.
Neither Mr Ong nor Mr Lum have been charged, with the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) previously saying that they would take a decision over the investigations against both men after Iswaran's case has been completed.
In the criminal revision hearing, Mr Singh had asked the prosecution to make available all conditioned statements - signed written statements used as evidence in a court case - to the defence.
If not, he asked for "draft" statements or all written statements from the prosecution witnesses.
He alleged that his client was being singled out, with the effect that he would be "discriminated against".
The veteran lawyer also claimed that the prosecution was initially prepared to give the defence conditioned statements when the prosecution wanted to proceed with Mr Lum's case first.
However, after the defence was granted its application for all charges to be heard together in one trial, the prosecution took the position for the first time that they were under no obligation to provide conditioned statements, claimed Mr Singh.
The prosecution, led by Deputy Attorney-General and Senior Counsel Tai Wei Shyong, said the defence was mischaracterising the prosecution's position and that the defence was the one changing its position.
Iswaran resigned from his positions in government two days before he was first charged in court in January.
Before this, he was placed on a leave of absence pending the investigation by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau.
If convicted of obtaining a valuable thing as a public servant, Iswaran can be jailed for up to two years, fined, or both.
If convicted of corruptly obtaining gratification under the Prevention of Corruption Act, he can be jailed for up to seven years, fined up to S$100,000 (US$74,400), or both.
If convicted of obstructing justice, he can be jailed for up to seven years, fined, or both.
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Iswaran's lawyers, led by Senior Counsel Davinder Singh, had already lost their first attempt in a June hearing not open to the public, and this was their second try in a criminal revision heard on Jul 5.
Justice Vincent Hoong said
Justice Hoong also rejected the defence's argument that there has been an abuse of process or serious injustice on the prosecution's part.
The development comes about a month before Iswaran is set to go on trial in the High Court for his criminal charges. CNA understands his trial begins on Aug 13.
Corruption cases are usually heard in the State Courts, but the prosecution had successfully applied for this case to be heard in the High Court in March.
The 62-year-old Singaporean faces a total of 35 charges comprising 32 counts of obtaining valuables as a public servant, two counts of corruption and one of obstructing justice.
These relate to his interactions with property tycoon Ong Beng Seng and Mr Lum Kok Seng, the managing director of Singapore-listed Lum Chang Holdings.
Neither Mr Ong nor Mr Lum have been charged, with the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) previously saying that they would take a decision over the investigations against both men after Iswaran's case has been completed.
In the criminal revision hearing, Mr Singh had asked the prosecution to make available all conditioned statements - signed written statements used as evidence in a court case - to the defence.
If not, he asked for "draft" statements or all written statements from the prosecution witnesses.
He alleged that his client was being singled out, with the effect that he would be "discriminated against".
The veteran lawyer also claimed that the prosecution was initially prepared to give the defence conditioned statements when the prosecution wanted to proceed with Mr Lum's case first.
However, after the defence was granted its application for all charges to be heard together in one trial, the prosecution took the position for the first time that they were under no obligation to provide conditioned statements, claimed Mr Singh.
The prosecution, led by Deputy Attorney-General and Senior Counsel Tai Wei Shyong, said the defence was mischaracterising the prosecution's position and that the defence was the one changing its position.
Iswaran resigned from his positions in government two days before he was first charged in court in January.
Before this, he was placed on a leave of absence pending the investigation by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau.
If convicted of obtaining a valuable thing as a public servant, Iswaran can be jailed for up to two years, fined, or both.
If convicted of corruptly obtaining gratification under the Prevention of Corruption Act, he can be jailed for up to seven years, fined up to S$100,000 (US$74,400), or both.
If convicted of obstructing justice, he can be jailed for up to seven years, fined, or both.
Continue reading...